Michael Kroft

BOOK CLUBS

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There is no study/teacher's guide as of yet for On Herring Cove Road: Mr. Rosen and His 43Lb Anxiety, but below are a dozen secular group discussion questions.

1) The story is narrated in a down-to-earth first-person speaking manner, avoiding colourful and flowery language where possible and subtly making the narrator an unnamed character. Would the story have benefited more from a more traditional writing style?

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2) If the narrator is a character from the story, who would it be?

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3) What was the most boring/dull/least interesting part of the story, and why would the author leave it in the novel?

4) How does the narrator's use of the characters' names change as the story progresses and why?

5) The illness Av (or Mr. Rosen) suffers from is never labeled in the story. What is it called today and what was it commonly called during WWII.

6) What were the reasons for Av growing his moustache in 1945 and then shaving it off in the final chapter?

7) Besides Paul Dixon's psychopathic nature, his racism appears to have been planted by his being impressionable, wanting to fit in and his lack of experience with other races, but was there more to it?

Would being from a small, spread out village make a difference? Does nurture over nature apply to racism?

8) Where in the story would you consider the point when Av finally opens up to his new friends?

9) Where are the examples going against the Jewish Stereotypes?

10) How might the future of the Dixons and Av have been different if they didn't meet?

11) At what point/s do we see Ruth setting herself up to form a friendship with Lisa?

12) Was there any point/s in the story where Av, if he had let himself reflect on it, might have realized what his wife was really doing?

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***If you have questions you wish to add to the list, please feel free to contact Michael and he'll have them added in***